Benetton is to invest a total of €43.2m in the Serbian textile industry following the purchase of cotton garment manufacturer Nitex and construction of a new factory for the production of its branded apparel.

Benetton is expected to purchase Nitex’s assets for €3m, becoming the official owner in March. The company then plans to demolish half of the Nitex facility in order to construct its own factory on the site located in Nis, southern Serbia.

Production is expected to start in May. It is forecast the new factory will produce one million clothing items by the end of the year. At full capacity, projected annual turnover is expected to reach €72m, with production mainly export-oriented.

Benetton hopes to employ 2,700 workers over the next four years. The state will endorse the project with €9,000 for each new employee hired.

Mladjan Dinkic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development, described this news as the greatest event for the Serbian textile industry in the last ten years, adding that thanks to this investment the south of Serbia will become a centre of the country’s textile industry.

Local construction companies engaged in the reconstruction of the former Nitex facilities are expected to receive between €10m and €15m for their engagement in this project.